U.S. patent number 10,506,277 [Application Number 15/851,168] was granted by the patent office on 2019-12-10 for method and system to navigate viewable content.
This patent grant is currently assigned to OPENTV, INC.. The grantee listed for this patent is OpenTV, Inc.. Invention is credited to Matthew Huntington, Jordan Kanarek, Jared Marr, David A. Merkoski, David Scott Nazarian, Celine Pering, Benjamin A. Rottler, Gina Terada, Joshua Wagner, Andrew Zeldis.
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United States Patent |
10,506,277 |
Huntington , et al. |
December 10, 2019 |
Method and system to navigate viewable content
Abstract
A method and system to navigate viewable content in the context
of television entertainment is provided. In one example embodiment,
the system comprises a presentation module to present main content
on a display screen, a communications module to receive a first
request associated with a first directional key on a remote control
device, a navigation mode detector to determine a navigation mode
associated with the first request, a margin menu module to activate
a margin menu associated with the determined navigation mode. The
margin menu may be presented along one of the margins of a display
screen, while permitting viewing of the main content.
Inventors: |
Huntington; Matthew
(Twickenham, GB), Merkoski; David A. (San Francisco,
CA), Pering; Celine (Palo Alto, CA), Kanarek; Jordan
(San Francisco, CA), Nazarian; David Scott (San Francisco,
CA), Wagner; Joshua (San Francisco, CA), Rottler;
Benjamin A. (San Francisco, CA), Zeldis; Andrew (San
Francisco, CA), Terada; Gina (San Francisco, CA), Marr;
Jared (San Francisco, CA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
OpenTV, Inc. |
San Francisco |
CA |
US |
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Assignee: |
OPENTV, INC. (San Francisco,
CA)
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Family
ID: |
39157867 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/851,168 |
Filed: |
December 21, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20180184153 A1 |
Jun 28, 2018 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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15159556 |
May 19, 2016 |
9860583 |
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14184371 |
Feb 19, 2014 |
9374621 |
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12377650 |
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8701041 |
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PCT/US2007/019554 |
Sep 7, 2007 |
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60911009 |
Apr 10, 2007 |
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60842735 |
Sep 7, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
21/42204 (20130101); H04N 21/4312 (20130101); G06F
16/435 (20190101); H04N 21/4532 (20130101); H04N
21/482 (20130101); H04N 21/4314 (20130101); H04N
21/47 (20130101); H04N 21/4826 (20130101); H04N
21/4221 (20130101); H04N 21/4828 (20130101); H04N
21/47202 (20130101); G06F 16/9535 (20190101); H04N
21/4782 (20130101); H04N 5/44543 (20130101); H04N
21/25891 (20130101); G06F 16/44 (20190101); G06F
3/0482 (20130101); H04N 21/8549 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04N
21/431 (20110101); H04N 5/44 (20110101); G06F
3/0482 (20130101); H04N 21/4782 (20110101); H04N
21/472 (20110101); H04N 21/482 (20110101); H04N
21/45 (20110101); G06F 16/44 (20190101); G06F
16/435 (20190101); G06F 16/9535 (20190101); H04N
5/445 (20110101); H04N 21/258 (20110101); H04N
21/422 (20110101); H04N 21/8549 (20110101) |
Field of
Search: |
;715/781 |
References Cited
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WO-2008051331 |
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WO |
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Primary Examiner: Titcomb; William D
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P.A.
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 15/159,556, filed on May 19, 2016, which is a continuation of
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/184,371, filed on Feb. 19,
2014, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
12/377,650, filed on Jan. 3, 2011, which is a U.S. National Stage
Filing under 35 U.S.C. 371 from International Application Number
PCT/US2007/019554, filed on Sep. 7, 2007 and published in English
as WO 2008/030565 on Mar. 13, 2008, which claims the priority
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/842,735 filed
on Sep. 7, 2006 and entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM TO NAVIGATE
MULTIMEDIA CONTENT" and of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.
60/911,009 filed on Apr. 10, 2007 and entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM
TO SEARCH MULTIMEDIA CONTENT IN THE CONTEXT OF TELEVISION
ENTERTAINMENT", which applications and publication are incorporated
herein by reference in their entirety. This application is also
related to commonly assigned PCT Application Number
PCT/US2007/019527, filed Sep. 7, 2007, published in English as WO
2008/051331 on May 2, 2008, and entitled "METHOD AND SYSTEM TO
SEARCH VIEWABLE CONTENT". This application is also related to the
U.S. National Stage Filing which claims priority to PCT Application
Number PCT/US2007/019527, filed on even date herewith. These
applications and publication are incorporated herein by reference
in their entirety.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A method comprising: detecting, by a media device, a first user
action during a presentation of first media content on a display
screen having margins; identifying, by the media device and from
among the margins of the display screen a margin that corresponds
to the first user action; causing, by the media device and during
the presentation of the first media content, display of second
media content on a portion of the display screen, the portion
corresponding to the identified margin; and based on a second user
action detected during display of the second media content,
causing, by the media device, display of third media content on the
portion that corresponds to the identified margin.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the third media content is
selected based on the second media content.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein: the causing of the display of
the second media content on the portion of the display screen
includes causing display of a recommendation that includes the
second media content on the portion of the display screen.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein: the recommendation that includes
the second media content is a first recommendation; and the causing
of the display the third media content on the portion of the
display screen includes causing display of a second recommendation
that includes the third media content on the portion of the display
screen.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein: the second recommendation is
based on the first recommendation.
6. The method of claim 4, further comprising: based on a third user
action detected during display of the third media content; causing,
by the media device, display of a third recommendation that
includes fourth media content on the portion of the display
screen.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein: the third recommendation is
based on the second recommendation.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein: the causing of the display of
the second media content on the portion of the display screen is
based on the second media content being previously designated by a
user as being of interest.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein: the detecting of the first user
action includes receiving a first input from a device configured to
select the first media content from available media content; and
the method further comprises: detecting, by the media device, the
second user action by receiving a second input from the device.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein: the first user action indicates
a first direction among a set of directions selectable by a device;
and the identifying of the margin is based on the first direction
indicated by the first user action.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein: the second user action
indicates the first direction among the set of directions; and the
causing of the display of the third media content is based on the
first direction indicated by the second user action.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: detecting, by the
media device, a third user action that indicates a second direction
perpendicular to the first direction; and causing, by the media
device, display of fourth media content on the portion of the
display screen, the fourth media content being selected based on
the third media content.
13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: detecting, by the
media device, a third user action that indicates a second direction
opposite to the first direction; and ceasing, by the media device,
the display of the third media content based on the third user
action indicating the second direction opposite to the first
direction.
14. The method of claim 1; wherein: the first user action results
from operation of a first directional control element among a set
of directional control elements on a device; and the identifying of
the margin is based on the operation of the first directional
control element.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein: the second user action results
from a further operation of the first directional control element
on the device; and the causing of the display of the third media
content is based on the further operation of the first directional
control element.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: detecting, by the
media device, a third user action resultant from operation of a
second directional control element among the set of directional
control elements, the second directional control element being
oriented perpendicular to the first directional control element;
and causing, by the media device, display of fourth media content
selected based on the second media content in response to the third
user action.
17. The method of claim 15, further comprising: detecting, by the
media device, a third user action resultant from operation of a
second control element among the set of directional control
elements, the second directional control element being oriented
opposite to the first directional control element; and ceasing, by
the media device, the display of the third media content in
response to the third user action.
18. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising
instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a
media device, cause the media device to perform operations
comprising: detecting a first user action during a presentation of
first media content on a display screen having margins;
identifying, from among the margins of the display screen, a margin
that corresponds to the first user action; causing, during the
presentation of the first media content, display of second media
content on a portion of the display screen, the portion
corresponding to the identified margin; and based on a second user
action detected during display of the second media content, causing
display of third media content on the portion that corresponds to
the identified margin.
19. A system comprising: one or more processors; and a memory
storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor
among the one or more processors, cause the system to perform
operations comprising: detecting a first user action during a
presentation of first media content on a display screen having
margins; identifying, from among the margins of the display screen,
a margin that corresponds to the first user action; causing, during
the presentation of the first media content, display of second
media content on a portion of the display screen, the portion
corresponding to the identified margin; and based on a second user
action detected during display of the second media content, causing
display of third media content on the portion that corresponds to
the identified margin.
20. The system of claim 19, wherein: the causing of the display of
the second media content on the portion of the display screen
includes causing display of a first recommendation that includes
the second media content on the portion of the display screen; and
the causing of the display the third media content on the portion
of the display screen includes causing display of a second
recommendation that includes the third media content on the portion
of the display screen.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This application relates to a method and system to navigate
viewable content in the context of television entertainment.
BACKGROUND
The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are
not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or
pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the
approaches described in this section are not prior art to the
claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by
inclusion in this section.
In the field of television entertainment, there is a new generation
of viewers that has a high expectation of the level of
entertainment to be enjoyed from television programming. These
viewers may expect more choice, more flexibility, as well as the
ability to interact and participate more with the viewable
content.
On the other hand, the sheer volume of content that is available
for viewing is exploding dramatically. Just the number of
television channels that are now available is almost unmanageable.
The amount of content that is available via video on demand service
is also increasing. It is now possible to view content over a wider
span of time by employing time shifting technologies, such as
Personal Video Recording (PVR) (sometimes referred to as DVR or
Digital Video Recording). This explosion of content may be
described as a paradox of choice, where the excess of choices
causes a viewer's inability to choose.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in
the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references
indicate similar elements and in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates an environment within which an example system to
navigate viewable content may be implemented, in accordance with an
example embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system, in accordance with
an example embodiment, to navigate viewable content;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method, to navigate viewable
content:
FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method, in accordance with an
example embodiment, that includes additional operations that may be
performed in one example implementation of a method to navigate
viewable content;
FIG. 5 illustrates a broadcast margin menu, in accordance with an
example embodiment;
FIG. 6 illustrates a broadcast grid, in accordance with an example
embodiment;
FIG. 7 illustrates a recommendation grid, in accordance with an
example embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method, in accordance with an
example embodiment, to provide recommendations with respect to the
content items available for viewing;
FIG. 9 illustrates a library grid, in accordance with an example
embodiment;
FIG. 10 illustrates a media card, in accordance with an example
embodiment; and
FIG. 11 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine in
the example form of a computer system within which a set of
instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of
the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A method and system to navigate content available for viewing and
to manage a viewer's choice is described. In the following
description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details
are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of an
embodiment of the present invention. It will be evident, however,
to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be
practiced without these specific details. It is to be noted that
the delivery mechanism for the content for viewing may be via a
satellite, cable, Internet, local storage, a local network, mobile
telephony, or any other content distribution network. Accordingly,
the viewing device need not be a television set but may be any
display unit of any device (including portable devices).
A system to navigate viewable content and to manage a viewer's may
include a supermodal zoomable viewer interface (ZUI) (e.g., the
interface may be selectively enlarged by zooming in, either
literally or figuratively, by enabling specific selections) that
may be utilized to assist viewers in navigating the wealth of
potentially available viewable content in an efficient and
enjoyable manner. An example interface may be configured to analyze
a viewer's behavior over time and to provide a personalized
experience in a world of nearly infinite content. In one example
embodiment, the interface may be configured to utilize existing
control keys on a remote control device, such as the directional
keys and the select button, in order to access various aspects of
the interface and the associated functionality. This functionality
may include, e.g., a viewer interface to navigate to the
programming of choice, to view recommendations based on the
currently viewed content and/or the viewer's profile, as well as to
permit viewers to search for specific content items. An example
interface may contribute to enhancing viewer experience by
providing a smooth transition between watching television and
navigating for content and between different navigation techniques.
For the purposes of this description, a feature or a combination of
features to permit a viewer to access multiple modes in order to
discover and navigate content and to link those modes to create a
unified experience, may be referred to as supermodality. It will be
noted that the term viewer may be understood broadly as any viewer
of the system to navigate television content.
In one example embodiment, a method and system to navigate viewable
content may be utilized in the following example scenario. A viewer
just arrived home and started watching television. The viewer is
channel surfing but cannot find anything adequate to watch. The
viewer is stuck in the paradox of choice--too much choice to find
something he really wants. By employing the example system to
navigate viewable content (that may be referred to as a navigation
system), the viewer is permitted to explore the variety of
available viewable content by the simple use of the five standard
remote control keys--the four directional keys (e.g., the arrow
buttons) and the select key. The requests submitted in this manner
may activate functionality to provide shortcuts to a variety of
content navigation functions (e.g., to automatically engage a
particular way of navigating), and thus may be referred to as
"surfcuts," as navigating through content is sometimes referred to
as "surfing."
In response to receiving a request associated with a directional
key, the example navigation system determines which directional key
was activated by the viewer and present the viewer with a so-called
margin menu. A margin menu, in one example embodiment, is displayed
in the margins of a viewing area (e.g., in the margins, or along
the edges of video content, or at the periphery of a TV screen or
any other viewing device) and may be associated with specific
navigation-related functionality. For example, one margin menu may
be dedicated to navigating broadcast channels, another--to
navigating video-on-demand (VOD) or previously stored content. In
one example embodiment, each item in the margin menu represents a
content item that can be viewed. Some example margin menus are
described further below. An interface based on margin menus may
contribute to enhancing viewer experience by providing a smooth
transition between watching television and navigating for content
and between different navigation techniques.
A margin menu may be intuitively associated with a particular
directional key such that a margin menu to be displayed in the
upper portion of a display screen may be activated by an "Up"
directional key, a margin menu to be displayed in the left portion
of a display screen may be activated by a "Left" directional key,
and so on. In one example embodiment, an interface for navigating
viewable content may include a feature that permits a viewer to
continue viewing the current content while, at the same time,
previewing different content (e.g., the content selected via a
margin menu choice). It will be noted, however, that in some
embodiments there may not be a margin per se. In such situation,
the main content may be resized in order to create space for the
margin menu. An example margin menu may be displayed such that it
does not obscure the content that a viewer is currently watching,
while permitting a viewer to start navigating towards different
viewable content. In some embodiments, where a margin menu is
displayed on a mobile device, the content may be partially or fully
obscured, depending on the screen size. A separate margin menu may
be associated with each directional key on a viewer's remote
control device. The margin menu may extend around the entire
periphery of the viewing area or only a portion thereof.
In one example embodiment, the directional keys that are provided
with a remote control device may be utilized to navigate margin
menus, with or without employing a specialized control key to
permit content navigation and selection. For example, once a margin
menu has been engaged, a viewer may use directional keys on a
remote control device to move between different content items
(e.g., by pressing the "Up" and "Down" directional keys if the
margin menu is displayed along the left or the right edge of the
screen). The "Select" key on a remote control device, in one
example embodiment, may be used to cause the currently viewed
content to be replaced by the selected content.
In one example embodiment, a margin menu associated with a
particular directional key may be displayed in such a way that it
reinforces a viewer's key-menu association. For example, a margin
menu associated with an "Up" directional key may be displayed near
the top edge of the viewing area, a "Down" directional key may be
displayed near the bottom edge of the viewing area, a "Left"
directional key may be displayed near the left edge of the viewing
area, and a "Right" directional key may be displayed near the right
edge of the viewing area. It will be noted, that a variety of
remote control devices may be utilized with the system to navigate
viewable content, including, e.g., controllers designed for games,
that may have more than four directional keys. Using points of a
compass, such controllers may have directional keys labels as "N",
"NE", "E", "SE", "S", "SW", "W", and "NW," and these directional
keys may also be used by the system to permit viewers to navigate
through viewable content.
In one example embodiment, an example navigation system may be
configured to present an expanded navigation interface (e.g., a
navigation grid) associated with some or all of the margin menu to
provide a more advanced discovery mode. A respective expanded
interface for a margin menu may be requested by pressing the same
directional key a second time when the margin menu is shown.
In order to exit from viewing a margin menu, a viewer may press the
directional key opposite from the key that engaged the margin menu.
For example, a viewer may bring up a left margin menu by pressing
the left directional key and then exit from viewing the left margin
menu by pressing the right directional key. According to one
example embodiment, a viewer may also exit by pressing some other
key as well, such as "Back", "Exit," or any other key. It will be
appreciated that the specific interface used to navigate a margin
menu may vary from one viewing device to another. For example, when
viewing content on a computer system, directional keys of a
keyboard may be used. When viewing content on a mobile device,
numerical keys may be used, and so on.
A margin menu may be navigated using the direction keys at 90
degrees to the directions keys used to invoke and exit it. For
example, a viewer may bring up the left margin menu by pressing the
"Left" directional key and then navigate between the choices within
the margin menu using the "Up" and "Down" directional keys. Each
item in the margin menu may have associated "Preview" and "Select"
options. The "Preview" option may permit a viewer to visually
access the content that is different from the currently viewed
content, while continuing to display the currently viewed content.
In one example embodiment, when a content item is selected from a
margin menu, e.g., by activating the "Select" key on a remote
control, the selected content item replaces the currently viewed
content.
A system to navigate multimedia content, in some example
embodiments, may be implemented to include modules to offer content
recommendations, to process explicit search requests, to present
broadcast programs, video on demand content, Internet content, as
well as previously stored content, in a manner suitable for
navigating. An example system to navigate viewable content in the
context of television entertainment may be described with reference
to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 illustrates an environment 100 within which an example
system to navigate viewable content may be implemented. The
environment 100 includes a system to navigate viewable content 102
in communication with an entertainment display device 104 and a
control device 106. In one example embodiment, the entertainment
display device 104 is a television set, and the control device 106
is a remote control device that may be used for switching between
television channels, for example. The system to navigate viewable
content 102 is shown as having access to broadcast programs 108,
video on demand programs 110, as well as to local content 112 and
Internet content 114. An example system to navigate viewable
content in the context of television entertainment may be described
with reference to FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example system 200 to navigate viewable
content. The system 200 includes a communications module 202, a
presentation module 204, and a margin menu module 208. The
communications module 202 may be configured to receive requests
from a viewer, e.g., content search, content selection, and content
navigation requests. As mentioned above, the requests may be
received from a television remote control device. The presentation
module 204 may be configured to display the content item, selected
by a viewer, in a format suitable for viewing. For example, the
presentation module 204 may cooperate with the margin menu module
208 to present different margin menus in response to viewer's
requests associated with directional keys on a remote control
device.
The margin menu module 208, in one example embodiment, may include
a plurality of modules, each of which being associated with its
respective margin menu. Example margin menus are described further
below. The presentation module 204 may also be configured to
present to a viewer a media card associated with a particular
content item, utilizing a media card module 222. A media card, in
one example embodiment, is an interactive presentation interface to
provide additional information regarding the content item,
including a list of keywords, stored as metadata associated with
the content item. The margin menu module 208 may be configured to
activate a margin menu associated with the determined navigation
mode. The activating of a margin menu indicates to the viewer that
a certain navigation mode has been activated. A margin menu may be
presented by the margin menu module 208 along one of the margins of
a display screen, while permitting viewing of the main content.
The margin menu module 208, in one example embodiment, cooperates
with a navigation mode detector 206. The navigation mode detector
206 may be configured to determine a navigation mode associated
with a directional key associated with a request received by the
communications module 202. The navigation mode detector 206 may
then communicate the navigation mode information to the margin menu
module 208 so that the margin menu module 208 displays the
appropriate margin menu. An example system 200 to navigate viewable
content may be configured to support a variety of navigation modes
and associated margin menus. Some example margin menus include a
broadcast menu, a library menu, a search, menu, and a
recommendation menu. Some of the example menus are discussed in
greater detail further below.
In one example embodiment, the system 200 to navigate viewable
content includes a search module 210 configured to locate the
requested content item based on a search term associated with the
search request and an anticipation engine 212 to drive
recommendations suggested to a viewer. The search module 210, in
one example embodiment, is configured to cooperate with a text
entry module permits a viewer to enter search terms in a text
format and a search term detector to determine a search term
associated with a viewer's request. A text entry module may
cooperate with a dictionary module to generate suggested search
terms and to present a reduced set of letter selections based on an
incomplete text entry by the viewer. A disambiguation module may be
provided with the search module 210 to generate a more precise
search term based on the search term provided with the viewer's
request. The viewer may then be provided with an option to select
the generated more precise search term to be used for searching.
The example system 200 may also include a search refinement module
to permit filtering of the content items located by the search
module 210.
As mentioned above, the content available for viewing on an
entertainment display device may include television programming,
locally stored content, video on demand, content available on a
local network, as well as content accessible via the Internet. The
system 200, in one example embodiment, includes a broadcast
interface module 214 to access television programming, a library
interface module 216 to access locally stored content, a video on
demand module 218 to access video on demand, and an Internet
interface module 220 to access Internet content. It will be noted
that some or all of the modules of the system 200 may be considered
to be a system to navigate viewable content. An expanded interface
module 224 may be configured to detect a request for an expanded
navigation interface associated with the currently active margin
menu and to activate the associated expanded interface. Example
operations performed by the system 200 may be described with
reference to FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 illustrates is an example method 300 to navigate viewable
content. The method 300 may be performed by processing logic that
may comprise hardware (e.g., dedicated logic, programmable logic,
microcode, etc.), software (such as run on a general purpose
computer system or a dedicated machine), or a combination of both.
It will be noted, that, in an example embodiment, the processing
logic may reside in any of the modules shown in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 3, the method 300 commences with operation 302,
where the presentation module 204 presents main content on a
display screen. At operation 304, the communications module 202 of
the system 200 receives a request associated with a directional key
on a remote control device. It will be noted that in one example
embodiment the display device is a television screen, and the
remote control device is a television remote control device. In
response to receiving the request, the navigation mode detector 206
processes the request to determine a navigation mode associated
with the first request, at operation 306. At operation 308, the
margin menu module 208 activates a margin menu associated with the
determined navigation mode and the presentation module 204 displays
the margin menu along one of the margins of the viewer's display
screen. The margin menu may be displayed such that the main content
is not obstructed from view.
As mentioned above, an example system to search viewable content
may be configured to permit a viewer to invoke functionality
utilizing directional keys that are intuitively associated with the
direction designated by a directional key. For example, if a
particular directional key is used to activate a particular
navigation mode, a directional key associated with the opposite
direction is used to deactivate the navigation mode. On the other
hand, engaging the same directional key again, causes the
activation of an expanded version of that navigation mode (e.g.,
the activation of a grid associated with that navigation mode).
Example operations illustrating these features may be discussed
with reference to FIG. 4.
FIG. 4 illustrates a method 400 that includes additional operations
that may be performed in one example implementation of a method to
navigate viewable content. The example method 400 may be performed
by processing logic that may comprise hardware (e.g., dedicated
logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.), software (such as run
on a general purpose computer system or a dedicated machine), or a
combination of both. It will be noted, that, in an example
embodiment, the processing logic may reside in any of the modules
shown in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 4, the method 400 commences with operation 402,
where the communications module 202 of the system 200 receives a
request associated with a directional key on a control device. At
operation 404, the navigation mode detector determines whether a
navigation mode has already been activated. If it is determined
that a navigation mode has not been activated, the navigation mode
detector 206 identifies the navigation mode associated with the
directional key and the identified navigation mode is activated at
operation 406. If it is determined that a navigation mode has
already been activated, the navigation mode detector 206 identifies
the active navigation mode at operation 408. The directional key
associated with the active navigation mode is determined at
operation 410.
If it is determined, at operation 412, that the directional key
associated with the request received at operation 402 is the
opposite of the directional key associated with the active
navigation mode, the active navigation mode is deactivated at
operation 414. If it is determined, at operation 412, that the
directional key associated with the request received at operation
402 is the same as the directional key associated with the active
navigation mode, the presentation module 204 displays, at operation
418, an associated grid to permit the viewer access to expanded
functionality associated with the active navigation mode. If it is
determined, at operation 412, that the directional key associated
with the request received at operation 402 is not the same as the
directional key associated with the active navigation mode, an
appropriate associated action is determined at operation 420, and
the action is performed at operation 422.
As mentioned above, one example of a margin menu is a broadcast
margin menu. The broadcast margin menu, in one example embodiment,
may be activated by the "Down" directional key on a remote control
device and may be displayed at the bottom of the viewer's screen.
The broadcast margin menu may permit a viewer to see what TV
programs are available on other channels. Each item in the on
broadcast margin menu may have associated with "Preview" and
"Select" (or "OK") options. The "Preview" option may permit a
viewer to visually access a desired broadcast channel, while
continuing to display the currently viewed content. In one example
embodiment, a viewer may be permitted to see other channels without
obscuring the currently viewed content. The "Select" option, in one
example embodiment, causes the currently viewed content to be
replaced by the selected broadcast channel.
An example broadcast margin menu is illustrated in FIG. 5. As shown
in FIG. 5, a main content item 502 is presented to occupy the
larger portion of a display area 500. Content items 504-512 that
represent other broadcast content item available for viewing are
presented in the form of a margin menu--the broadcast margin
menu--displayed along the right margin of the display area 500.
As shown in FIG. 5, the content item 508 is displayed as
highlighted or accentuated, in order to draw the viewer's attention
as a recommended item. The highlighting may be accomplished in a
variety of ways. For example, the program title may be displayed in
a color different from or brighter than the title color of the
other menu items. In one embodiment, the recommended content item
from the menu may be presented as streaming video, while the rest
of the menu items may be presented as still images.
In one example embodiment, a viewer may be permitted to select and
view a program from the broadcast margin menu, or, alternatively,
the viewer may be permitted to access a so-called broadcast grid
associated with the broadcast margin menu. FIG. 6 illustrates a
broadcast grid 600, in accordance with an example embodiment. In
one example embodiment, the broadcast grid is a traditional linear
TV grid, which may include some features of a conventional TV grid.
A TV grid may be displayed such that the channels information runs
across the top of the viewer's screen (e.g., areas 604, 606, and
608) while the time, in area 602, runs down the side of the
viewer's screen. As shown in FIG. 6, thumbnail images from the
broadcast menu, e.g., images that may be presented in areas 604 and
606, are kept at the top of the screen so the viewer can easily see
what is currently playing on a channel as they page through the
guide. In one example embodiment, the titles of recommended
broadcast programs presented within the body of the grid may be
visually emphasized, e.g., with a subtle colored highlight. The
anticipation engine 212 may be configured to determine which
broadcast programs should be recommended in this manner, based on
the viewer's personal profile and viewing habits.
It will be appreciated that an expanded interface may be provided
on any display device. The broadcast grid may be accessed by the
viewer by pressing the same button that was used to access the
broadcast margin menu while the broadcast margin menu is visible.
Within the broadcast grid, a viewer may be permitted to not only
navigate by content, but also by the channel names or brands. So as
with any other content item, a viewer may bring up a to view
information associated with a particular channel, to search based
on that channel, to make recommendations based on the channel
brand, or to save content associated with the channel. Example
media card is described further below with reference to FIG. 7.
In one example embodiment, each content item associated with a
particular channel in the broadcast margin menu (or in a broadcast
grid) may be displayed utilizing a still image or streaming video.
When the channels in the broadcast margin menu or in a broadcast
grid are represented as streaming videos, a viewer may be permitted
to actually sample the channels' content directly through these
individual screens. In one example embodiment of the broadcast
grid, the text associated with different TV programs may be
presented as having different color, brightness, or different font
size, or any combination of the above, to indicate a recommendation
generated by the anticipation engine 212. Thus, while a viewer is
presented with information associated with several different
channels, the viewer may be capable of quickly identifying a TV
program that is of most interest to her.
As mentioned above, another margin menu is a search margin menu. In
one example embodiment, the search menu that may be presented near
the right margin of the viewer's screen, displays content items
from a previously executed search. The search margin menu may be
activated by the "Right" directional key on a remote control
device. A viewer may utilize the search menu to access a content
item found in the last search performed. Each item in the on search
margin menu may have associated "Preview" and "Select" (or "OK")
options. The "Preview" option may permit a viewer to visually
access a desired content item, while continuing to display the
currently viewed content. In one example embodiment, a viewer may
be permitted to see other content items from a search without
obscuring the currently viewed content. The "Select" option, in one
example embodiment, causes the currently viewed content to be
replaced by the selected content item. A viewer can also initiate a
new search by typing or selecting a search term. Once the search
term has been determined, the search module 210 may locate one or
more relevant content items based on the determined search term.
The presentation module 204 may then present to the viewer the
located content item. In one example embodiment, the located
content item is presented to the viewer as a so-called source
content item. Designating a content item to be the source item
indicates to the associated content navigation system that metadata
associated with the content item may be utilized to locate further
search results or recommendations.
In one example embodiment, in response to requesting a search, a
viewer is presented with one or more terms reflecting more precise
meanings of the search term determined from the search request. A
process to determine a more precise meaning of the search term may
be referred to as disambiguation. For example, if the search term
is "Disney," the search may produce a large number results. The
viewer may be permitted to look at these individual content items
within the search results or use mechanisms to refine the search by
choosing a disambiguated meaning of the search term, such as "Walt
Disney" or "Disney World", with each results set reduced
automatically as the different meanings are selected.
Another example mechanism to refine or filter the search results is
to present the viewer with an option to select a particular
keyword, tag, category, or a type of content. For example, the list
of content items produced by the search based on "Disney" may be
filtered further based on the type of content associated with
"animals" or only content that are TV series. The search results
can be filtered multiple times, reducing the search result set with
each filter by selecting different terms.
One example interface is single screen faceted browsing, where a
list of filter terms is presented in multiple lists in the same
interface as the search result list. One list of terms may be
content categories and another list of terms may be content
specific keywords/tags. In one example embodiment, moving between
the terms and selecting terms from the lists allows the search
results to be filtered/pivoted. The viewer may navigate between the
search results list and search term lists using the "Left" and
"Right" directional keys and navigate up and down the lists using
the "Up" and "Down" directional keys. The search results list may
contain images, text, or video to identify the associated content
in the search result set.
One example of a search results list is a "lightbox" model, where a
search result is just the title of a content item except for the
search item that has focus, which would be expanded in size to
contain a thumbnail video or a still image or expanded text. In one
example embodiment, the pool of content utilized to generate a list
of search results includes broadcast content, on-demand content,
Internet content, content stored on a local network, as well as any
other type of content that may be viewable on a television set, or
any other display device.
In one example embodiment, the system to navigate viewable content
may be configured to provide other margin menus in addition to the
broadcast margin menu and the search margin menu. Other margin
menus may include a library margin menu, and a recommendation
margin menu. As mentioned above, the system may be configured to
present a navigation grid associated with some or all of the margin
menus to provide a more advanced discovery mode.
The library margin menu, in one example embodiment, permits a
viewer to access content, both for locally sourced content (e.g.,
PVR), and remotely sourced content (e.g., video on demand, content
via Internet-based distribution, content on a local network etc.).
The library margin menu, in one example embodiment, may be
activated by the "Left" directional key on a remote control device
and may be displayed near the left margin of the viewer's screen.
As mentioned earlier, with respect to margin menus in general, once
the library margin menu has been engaged, a viewer may use
directional keys on a remote control device to move between
different content items (e.g., by pressing the "Up" and "Down"
directional keys). The "Select" key, activated on a remote control
device, in one example embodiment, causes the currently viewed
content to be replaced by the selected content. The library margin
menu, in one example embodiment may be associated with a library
grid, which is described further below. In one example embodiment,
the content items that may be accessed utilizing the library menu
and the library grid are the content items that has been designated
by a viewer as being of interest to the viewer.
In one example embodiment, the "Up" directional key on a remote
control device may be utilized to engage a recommendations margin
menu. The recommendations margin menu may be associated with an
engine that may be configured to intelligently anticipate a
viewer's choice of particular content. Thus, such an engine may be
termed an anticipation engine, which may be provided with the
system 200 to navigate viewable content, illustrated in FIG. 2. The
recommendations generated by the anticipation engine 212 may be
based, for example, on the specific content that the viewer is
currently watching, a profile of the viewer including viewing
habits, environmental context, general popularity, collaborative
filtering or any combination of the preceding factors. A margin
menu with several recommended content items may appear near the top
margin of the viewer's screen in response to the control key. The
viewer may then select any of the recommended content items, either
for preview or for committed viewing. Alternatively, the viewer may
choose to solicit further recommendations by engaging a so-called
full committed interface (or entering a committed recommendations
mode). While in the example committed recommendations mode, a
viewer may request recommendations from the anticipation engine 212
based not on the originally viewed content but rather based on the
selected recommended content item. In response, the anticipation
engine 212 may provide further recommendations to be displayed by
the navigation interface.
It will be noted, that the recommendations mode that permits
viewers to view recommendations and solicit more targeted
recommendations may be accessed from any other margin menu,
navigation grid, media card, or any other component of the viewer
interface. In one example embodiment, a viewer may be presented
simultaneously with recommendations based on the originally viewed
content and with recommendations based on the selected recommended
content item, as well as on the profile of the viewer. The content
item that is selected to be the basis for a group of recommended
content items may be called a source item. For example, while the
system is operating in the committed recommendations mode, a source
item (e.g., a source video) may be displayed along with two
recommended content items displayed either side of it. A viewer may
be permitted to navigate with the "Left" and "Right" directional
keys to either of those content items. If a viewer navigates to a
recommended content item and selects it, the item may be then
brought into focus and displayed in the center of the viewer's
screen, as the new source content item, surrounded by two other
recommendations. A viewer may navigate with the "Up" directional
keys to retain the current source content and replace the two
recommended content items with two new recommendations based on the
same source item. A viewer may navigate with the "Down" directional
keys to return to a previous source item. The recommendations may
be displayed as still images, while the source item may be
displayed as a streaming video. Data about the recommendations and
the source item may be displayed with images, video, or text, for
example, title. For a recommendation item, this data may also
include the tag/keyword common to the recommendation item and
source item that had the most influence on the recommendation being
made.
An example alternative implementation of a committed recommendation
mode is so-called fractal navigation, where a directional key may
be used to designate a recommended content item as a new source
content item, while maintaining the previous choices visually
available. The resulting hierarchy of recommendations, illustrated
in FIG. 7, may have an appearance of a fractal, thus the term
"fractal navigation." In FIG. 7, the initial source item 702 is
presented with four recommended items 704. Each recommended item
704 may, in turn serve as source content items and be presented
with one or more refined recommendation items 706. Each new set of
recommendations may be based on the respective source content item
and the viewer's personal profile. For example, if the new source
content item (e.g., a movie) is identified by the system as more
scary than the old source content item, the resulting
recommendations may include movies that are more scary than the new
source item.
To illustrate an example use case of the recommendations mode, as a
viewer follows the direction of a recommendation, the new
recommendation in the same direction may have the same link,
creating an association between the direction and the tag/keyword
while the same direction is followed. In one example embodiment,
the recommended content items may be selected from a variety of
sources, such as broadcast television, the content on the viewer's
PVR, the content available over the Internet, content available
from a local network(s), as well as from any interactive, dynamic
or Internet Protocol (IP) based content.
The anticipation engine 212, in one example embodiment, may utilize
a variety of criteria in order to generate recommendations for a
particular viewer. An example criteria may include the viewer's
consumption statistics or viewing behavior, e.g., what a viewer has
actually watched in the past. Another criterion that may be used by
the anticipation engine 212 is a viewer's environment, e.g., the
current time of day, the viewer's geographic location, or the type
of the viewer's display device (e.g., a TV set which may be a
standard definition TV set or a high definition TV set).
Furthermore, the 212 may utilize data that may be indicative of the
viewer's mood. For example, information pertaining to how hard the
viewer is pressing the remote control buttons and how long the
viewer has lingered on each content item may provide an indication
of the viewer's mood. Thus, the anticipation engine 212 may be
configured to utilize a viewer's environment and mood indicators,
in addition to utilizing the viewer's consumption patterns, in
order to generate recommendations. It will be noted that, in one
example embodiment, the anticipation engine 212 may utilize a
variety of recommendation techniques. For example, the content
presented to a viewer as related to the source content item may be
shared from a social network and use collaborative filtering.
In one example embodiment, a viewer may be presented with reasoning
behind recommendation, e.g., the name of the actor, a category, a
particular keyword, etc. The recommendations may be based, for
example, on one or more characteristics of the source content item,
on the viewer's personal profile, or on a combination of both.
Example operations performed by the system 200 while the
recommendation mode is active, may be described with reference to
FIG. 8.
FIG. 8 illustrates is an example method 800 to provide
recommendations. The method 800 may be performed by processing
logic that may comprise hardware (e.g., dedicated logic,
programmable logic, microcode, etc.), software (such as run on a
general purpose computer system or a dedicated machine), or a
combination of both. It will be noted, that, in an example
embodiment, the processing logic may reside in any of the modules
shown in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 8, the method 800 commences with operation 802,
where the communications module 202 of the system 200 receives a
request to activate the recommendation mode. The recommendation
mode may be activated by a viewer is a variety of ways. For
example, as mentioned above, a viewer may activate the
recommendation menu. The recommendation mode may also be activated
by selecting a "Recommend" control presented on a media card. At
operation 804, the anticipation module 230 determines the source
content item and then determines one or more recommended content
items, at operation 806 based, e.g., on metadata associated with
the source content item and the viewer's profile.
The suggested content items are displayed at operation 808. The
method 800 proceeds further to permit a viewer to explore further
recommendation, unless it is determined, at operation 810, that the
viewer requested to exit the recommendation code, in which case the
system 200 processes the exit request, at operation 812. In one
example embodiment, if it is determined, at operation 814, that the
viewer selected a suggested content item, the method proceeds to
operation 804 to display the selected content item as a new source
item and continue with determining further suggested content.
The library margin menu discussed above, in one example embodiment,
may be associated with a library grid. The library grid may be
utilized to present to a viewer with even more items from the
locally and remotely sourced content available for viewing. In one
example embodiment, the items in the library grid may be presented
to a viewer as thumbnail images or video. The library grid may be
navigated utilizing the directional keys on a remote control
device, and each content item in the library grid may be associated
with a media card.
An example library grid, illustrated in FIG. 9, includes a display
area divided into a plurality of sections, where each section
(e.g., each column 902) includes library content items associated
with different categories 904. In some embodiments a viewer may be
invited to use default categories (e.g., "Movies," "TV Programs,"
"Sports," "Photos," etc.) or create custom categories. Custom
categories may be generated by a viewer or based upon the type
and/or metadata of the aggregate content. For example, a custom
category may be associated with an actor, a genre, a broadcast
channel, the source of the content etc. In one example embodiment,
the interface for navigating viewable content may be linked to one
or more social networks. The categorization may then be driven by a
social network (e.g., a viewer-selected group of reference people),
where the content may be tagged by a person or by a mechanism
associated with a particular social network.
It will be noted, that other margin menus may be provided instead
of or in addition to the margin menus described above. A so-called
scenographic margin menu, in one example embodiment, may be
configured to permit a viewer to access different scenes within the
content that is being presented to the viewer or to access related
interactive content. The scenographic margin menu, in one example
embodiment, may provide access to different portions of a
particular program, similar to the scene selection feature
available on digital video discs (DVDs).
Each item in the on scenographic margin menu may have associated
"Preview" and "Select" (or "OK") options. The "Preview" option may
permit a viewer to visually access a desired scene in the content,
while continuing to display the currently viewed content. In one
example embodiment, a viewer may be permitted to see other scenes
in the program without obscuring the currently viewed portion of
the content. The "Select" option, in one example embodiment, causes
the currently viewed scene to be replaced by the selected scene.
The scenographic margin menu, in one example embodiment, may be
associated with a scenographic grid that provides the viewer with
an expanded view of the scenes within the content. For example,
where a program is a football match, the associated scenographic
grid may permit the viewer to access the highlights of that
football match. Within the scenographic grid, the viewer may move
quickly to critical parts of the game, or replay a goal.
In one example embodiment, the items in the scenographic grid may
be presented to a viewer as thumbnail images. The scenographic grid
may be navigated utilizing the directional keys on a remote control
device, and each content item in the scenographic grid may be
associated with a media card providing additional information
associated with any element of the scene. In one example
embodiment, each content item associated with a particular scene in
the scenographic margin menu (or in the scenographic grid) may be
displayed utilizing a still image or streaming video.
Another feature that may be provided with the system 200 to
navigate viewable content, as mentioned above, is a media card
represented as a display area dedicated to additional information
associated with a particular content item. A viewer may bring up a
media card associated with the currently viewed content. A viewer
may also be permitted to bring up a media card associated with a
preview item. A media card, in one example embodiment, may have
various actions associated with it. For example, a media card may
include a "Save" action, to permit a viewer to save the associated
content item for later viewing, and a "Recommend" action, to permit
a viewer to drive a recommendations grid based on the piece of
content associated with the media card. Returning to the "Save"
action, in one example embodiment, if the content item associated
with the media card is an on demand content item or a content item
that may become available in the future, the "Save" action causes
the system to bookmark the content item. If the content item
associated with the media card is a current content item, the
"Save" action causes the system to start recording the content to
the viewer's personal video recorder. If the content item
associated with the media card is a preview for a future broadcast
then the "Save" action causes the system to book a recording for
the future. An example media card is illustrated in FIG. 10.
As shown in FIG. 10, a media card 1000 may include an information
area 1002, a search control 1004 to activate a search mode, a save
area 1006 to permit designating the content item for future
viewing, a recommend control 1008 to activate a recommendation
mode, and an options control 1010. The options control 1010 may
activate various additional features associated with an example
media card. It will be noted that, in one example embodiment, any
element of the media card may be actionable (e.g., a viewer may
click on an actor's name and view further information about the
actor, etc.). The actions associated with a media card may be
navigated to, in one example embodiment, utilizing the directional
keys on a remote control device, which may map to the same
direction as the UI itself. Activation of an action may, for some
actions, present a viewer with additional choices before the action
is completed. For example, for the "search" action, a list of
associated keywords may be presented to provide the search term.
The keywords, as well as other information displayed on a media
card, may be stored as metadata associated with the content
item.
It will be noted that, although the embodiments have been described
by way of example with reference to digital video, it will be
appreciated to a person of skill in the art that the techniques
described herein may be utilized to navigate and to manage the
choice of any digital data.
FIG. 11 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the
example form of a computer system within which a set of
instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of
the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed.
In alternative embodiments, the machine operates as a standalone
device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In
a networked deployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of
a server or a client machine in server-client network environment,
or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network
environment. The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet
PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a
cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or
bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions
(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that
machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the
term "machine" shall also be taken to include any collection of
machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple
sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the
methodologies discussed herein.
The example computer system 1100 includes a processor 1102 (e.g., a
central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or
both), a main memory 1104 and a static memory 1106, which
communicate with each other via a bus 1108. The computer system
1100 may further include a video display unit 1110 (e.g., a liquid
crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer
system 1100 also includes an alphanumeric input device 1112 (e.g.,
a real or virtual keyboard), a viewer interface (UI) navigation
device 1114 (e.g., a remote control or a mouse), a disk drive unit
1116, a signal generation device 1118 (e.g., a speaker) and a
network interface device 1120.
The disk drive unit 1116 includes a machine-readable medium 1122 on
which is stored one or more sets of instructions and data
structures (e.g., software 1124) embodying or utilized by any one
or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The
software 1124 may also reside, completely or at least partially,
within the main memory 1104 and/or within the processor 1102 during
execution thereof by the computer system 1100, the main memory 1104
and the processor 1102 also constituting machine-readable
media.
The software 1124 may further be transmitted or received over a
network 1126 via the network interface device 1120 utilizing any
one of a number of well-known transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP).
While the machine-readable medium 1122 is shown in an example
embodiment to be a single medium, the term "machine-readable
medium" may be taken to include a single medium or multiple media
(e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated
caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of
instructions. The term "machine-readable medium" shall also be
taken to include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or
carrying a set of instructions for execution by the machine and
that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the
methodologies of the present invention, or that is capable of
storing, encoding or carrying data structures utilized by or
associated with such a set of instructions. The term
"machine-readable medium" shall accordingly be taken to include,
but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical and magnetic
media, and carrier wave signals.
The embodiments described herein may be implemented in an operating
environment comprising software installed on a computer, in
hardware, or in a combination of software and hardware.
Although embodiments have been described with reference to specific
example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications
and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from
the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the
specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative
rather than a restrictive sense.
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References